Reviews: The Growlers – Chinese Fountain

The Growlers have coasted with albums like Gilded Pleasures and Hung at Heart, but deliver something a little different with Chinese Fountain. Chinese Fountain is an obvious attempt at maturity—with meta-narrative aside from the girl next door—and they’ve appealed to those who are attached to the pre–Chinese Fountain Growlers and to those who are interested in what else they can achieve. It’s still their classic psychedelic sound and beach-rat attitude, but cleaned up a bit on tracks like “Big Toe,” clinging to their roots on tracks like “Good Advice,” and sparking a new side on tracks like “Going Gets Tuff.” Chinese Fountain is a transition—showing that the band is another year older and wiser—but it is anything but a disappointment. –Lizz Corrigan